| | Vic | Aug 10 | Dammed natural problems A gigantic landslide in the Himalayas has created a potentially disastrous flood situation in the upper reaches of the Sutlej. Read More | Gopal Krishna | Aug 04 | White Asbestos Kills Now thatched roofing is being replaced with asbestos in haste, following the fire tragedy in a school in Kumbakonan, 350 km from Chennai. The replacement found for a thatched roof in the state is one with asbestos sheets, which is a cancer causing material, and it is going to have disastrous consequences for health. Read More | Anivar Aravind | May 21 | Silent Valley : No more dams Silent Valley National Park Twenty years of constant efforts towards conservation of the Silent Valley National Park and its buffer areas by the Government of Kerala and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Silent Valley HEP has been revived in the form of proposed Pathrakadavu HEP... Read More | IMC | Jan 22 | Narmada Bachao Andolan Three days ago the Narmada Bachao Andolan began an occupation of the back entrance to the State Building of Maharashtra in Mumbai, India. Their demands are over 20 years old and include an end to big dam construction on the Narmada River and satisfactory compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement of Adivasis (tribal peoples) who have been displaced by flooding of their villages. The current protest is in response to the recent Narmada Control Authority decision to allow the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam to continue to a height of 110 meters. At least 12,000 families in Madhya Pradesh will face submergence and displacement without any resettlement, while at least 3000 tribal families in Maharashtra are in their villages and 2000 oustees are yet to be declared as oustees and resettled. Since the beginning of big dam construction after Independence, around 55 million people have been flooded out of their villages. Most of these people have never received any substantive or just compensation or resettlement assistance from the Indian government. Read:The Greater Common Good by Arundhati Roy Watch:Video of Narmada Submergence [Background | Take Action] Read More | | Jan 19 | A thousand issues during a week of workshops, protests, and events The week of meetings, speeches, protests, cultural events is underway in Mumbai. The WSF has addressed thousand of issues including child labor, indigenous struggles, homelessness, the G-20, art and resistance video, queers and sex workers, the coca cola boycott, songs and more songs of resistance, linking rivers, South Korean migrant workers, the dalits [es] (untouchables), testimonials about the dowry system, and a poetry book released for the forum. Artisans held workshops on candle making. There have even been calls for uniting WSF and MR. A critical issue has been the Iraq War and the presence of US military bases around the world. A major theme by many activists is how to defeat Bush in 2004 and a broader call for a boycott campaign against US corporations which benifit from the occupation of Iraq. To wrap up the week Mumbai Resistance will hold a protest and the WSF will be holding a less militant rally. Photos from the WSF: Slums of Mumbai Stands and exhibits Posters of the WSF Posters of the WSF Anti-War Posters of the WSF Women's Issues Posters of the WSF Photos of cultural Resistance Mumbai Resistance 2004 More Mumbai Resistance 2004 Art and Resistance Queer and Sex Workers March Opening Day People of the World Social Forum Amnesty International Anti-WSF cartoons Read More | | Jan 19 | Audio from the WSF India Indymedia has been recording audio from some of the WSF events. Here is a compilation of what has been uploaded so far: Read More | IMC | Jan 17 | World Social Forum Begins with a Bang The World Social Forum began in Mumbai with extremely jubilant demonstrations of resistance. Around 100,000 poured into the WSF grounds singing and dancing throughout the day. Watch Video (mpeg 4) In the evening the opening plenary featuring speakers such as Arundhati Roy (India), Shabana Azmi (India), Shirin Ebadi (Iran) and Mustafa Barghouti (Palestine) spoke to a massive crowd. [Photos | Video from One world TV. Read a report of the First Day, art & resistance, and look at anti-war cartoons, photos, photos, and more photos. Across the road from the WSF is Mumbai Resistance, organized by the Maoist sect of the Communist Party of India, which claims to take a more proactive step in comparison to the WSF. Arguments for and against the two forums can be found on the newswire. Organizer have called for unity between the two forums. Anti-WSF Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Listen to a live radio stream produced by AMARC and you can find more articles about the WSF at ciranda.net Read More | IMC | Jan 14 | World Social Forum: Mumbai, January 16-21 The 4th World Social Forum is set to begin January 16 at the NESCO Grounds, Goregaon, Mumbai. This World Social Forum, the first to take place outisde of Porto Alegre, Brazil, will feature over 1,000 events including workshops, lectures, and panel discussions. Organizers are expecting nearly 100,000 participants from around the world. Preparations for the World Social Forum are moving along, including a media centre for journalists, and an extensive translations project. Babels, an international network of over 4,000 translators, is collaborating with French and Tunisian activists to form Nomad, which has created the translation system. All events in the 5 main halls will be simultaneously translated into six languages and digitally archived. Audio archives of World Social Forum Coverage will be available at this website. There is a one minute introduction video to the World Social Forum in India online. There will also be an Indymedia presence at both the WSF Conference Center and the International Youth Camp. Read More | | Sep 15 | Mass demonstrations against neo-liberalism Hundreds of thousands of protestors staged demonstrations across India as part of a worldwide protest against the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which held a summit in Cancun, Mexico, from 10-14 September. The summit saw a head on clash between the governments of rich and poor countries, while outside demonstrators clashed with police. In Karnataka, 35,000 farmers protested in Bangalore on 10 September demanding that India quit the WTO if there was no deal on fair trade. They brought attention to the increasing number of suicides by farmers due to rising poverty caused by indebtedness. At least 200 farmers have committed suicide in Karnataka so far this year due to spiralling costs largely associated with the withdrawal of agricultural extension subsidies, as part of the neo-liberal agenda dictated by the IMF. The bitter irony was that on the same day as the Bangalore protest, South Korean farmer Lee Kyang-hae apparently committed suicide during a protest outside the WTO summit venue in Cancun. The next day, farmers attacked the former Bangalore offices of multi-national seed giant Monsanto over the issue of genetically modified crops. Similar anti-WTO protests were staged across the nation, including West Bengal, where hundreds of thousands of workers marched through the streets of Kolkata. The BJP-led government claimed it was responding to the concerns of Indian farmers by leading the resistance to Western liberalisation demands at the summit. But many were sceptical, highlighting the fact that the government had broken its promises at the WTO’s Doha summit. Moreover, the liberalisation policies pursued by successive Congress and BJP governments have been harmed the poor. It seems the Indian government was simply grand-standing at Cancun, to appeal to nationalist capitalist interests represented by Swadeshi Jagran Manch. Ultimately, the WTO was unable to agree on the Singapore issues of investment, competition, trade and government procurement. Developing countries resisted Western governments' demands for the effective formalisation of corporate imperialism, which would give multi-national corporations the legal power to dictate the policy agenda in the developing world. Consequently, the talks collapsed. The draft declaration backed by the European Union and the US, would require India to eventually make substantial reductions in import duties on agricultural products, but failed to commit Western states to reduce their controversial hefty subsidies for their own farmers. The Indian government resisted the proposals, although the ruling BJP’s economic model is virtually indistinguishable from the neo-liberal agenda of the West; it is a war on the poor, who are dying as a direct result of free market fundamentalism. But while many celebrated the collapse of the talks, the poor continue to suffer rising deprivation as public services are sold to the government’s greedy business backers and world trade remains skewed towards rich Western interests. The poor remain marginalised and humiliated, having to resort to suicide to get their voices heard; summit politics always ignore the voice of the powerless. Only globalised resistance can overcome the inequities of capitalism. Background reports Indymedia Cancun Oneworld.net Cancun summit coverage Indymedia video reports from Cancun Hedging by the WTO WTO interactive guide
| | Sep 11 | SOUTH ASIA'S LABOUR ACTIVISTS CONNECT TO OPPOSE MILITARISATION Continuing conflicts in the subcontinent have led to increased defence budgets at the expense of social sector spending. A very substantial part of world's labouring poor reside in South Asia, yet the region remains one of the most militarized areas of the world. While global military expenditure is declining, the trend in South Asia seems the opposite. Defence spending as a percentage of combined expenditure on health and education, for example, is around 65 per cent in India and 125 per cent in Pakistan. India's military industrial complex is to spend an estimated $100 billion on defence in the coming decade. One hundred billion dollars (4,800 billion Indian rupees)! How many children could be fed in that amount, how many sick people given relief, how many schools built? At whose expense will all this spending on armaments be? The poor and the subaltern of India. And who will be major beneficiaries of all the arms purchases? They tell us its all for our security. Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have been and are continuing to pay the heavy costs of fighting their wars and insurgencies. Trade union representatives and labour activists from all over South Asia met in Karachi on 1-2 September, 2003 and adopted the Karachi declaration , which firmly seeks to mobilise against our war maniacs and their defence spending lobbies in the region. Reports on the event: Pak., India urged to give up arms race - The Hindu Dictators and extremists enemies of peace - The Daily Times Pakistan, India asked to cut defence budget - Dawn Mobilising labour in S. Asia against hatred - The Hindu Role of workers in peace movement highlighted - Dawn Groups and Resources:
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research (PILER) Center for Education and Communication (CEC) India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch | | | Feature archive | | | | latest news | | | | Texts on Proudhon 09-12-2004 20:01 Power from Burn Technology, not Renewable 09-12-2004 14:26 BRAVE NUDE WORLD ? 09-12-2004 13:59 Disclose pesticide content in colas: SC to Coke, Pepsi 08-12-2004 18:29 New Delhi Solidarity Network 08-12-2004 12:07 Upcoming Patent Amendment Bill Will Deny Patients Medication 08-12-2004 12:03 Sankaracharya Arrest - A Milestone in the Tamil Politics 07-12-2004 12:02 Sankaracharya Arrest - A Milestone in the Tamil Politics 07-12-2004 11:59 Russians or Americans... all want to sell arms 06-12-2004 13:46 AMERICA'S IMPERIAL WIZARD VISITS CANADA 06-12-2004 13:18 Message of Peace 05-12-2004 04:03 Behind Firing at Kashipur again 03-12-2004 08:19 THE JEWISH STRUGGLE AGAINST ARABS IN ISRAEL 02-12-2004 23:31 Conferencia sobre la Mala Suerte 02-12-2004 22:51 Commonwealth Film Festival 02-12-2004 14:04 U.S. Christians await president's payback 02-12-2004 05:54 2gb sydney's hate machine 02-12-2004 04:15 EMERGENCY APPEAL FROM NAOMI KLEIN 02-12-2004 03:51 Two Russia Diplomats Suspected of Being Pimps 01-12-2004 22:27 He's dead now. 01-12-2004 16:39 Guitarist, Javier PEÑOÑORI: in CHANNEL 7 01-12-2004 15:03 Students at 60 Colleges on Five Continents Demand Justice fo 01-12-2004 07:53 Students at 60 Colleges on Five Continents Demand Justice fo 01-12-2004 07:50 Dr. Leo Rebello's Message on World AIDS Day 2004 29-11-2004 13:32 Police Attack Coca-Cola Protesters, Over 350 Arrested 29-11-2004 09:28 Kanchi Seer Arrested Again 28-11-2004 13:59 For a Real Independent Journalism: criticism to the Indymedi 28-11-2004 13:56 For a Real Independent Journalism: criticism to the Indymedi 28-11-2004 13:52 Fahrenhype 9/11-Another Zionist Thought Control Attempt 26-11-2004 21:50 Sustainable Surrender 26-11-2004 09:56 Kanchi Seer's Arrest Rattles Upper Castes 24-11-2004 09:04 Labor leaders to tour US and address "outsourcing" issue 22-11-2004 21:09 IRAQ: US-Army uses Napalm and Phosphor ! 22-11-2004 02:07 By Way of Deception 21-11-2004 12:21 bloody history of bloody leaders 20-11-2004 11:24 Global asbestos ban on horizon 20-11-2004 05:00 La sordidez del tango y el final de la globalización 19-11-2004 09:36 Heroic Fallujah 18-11-2004 16:33 Do human beings really exist? 18-11-2004 09:07 The naked monkey facing the globalizatión. 18-11-2004 09:05 Argentine officials harassing Animal Activists. 17-11-2004 20:10 The Progressive Muslims Union, North America 17-11-2004 17:59 Welcome To Goa 17-11-2004 17:27 Happy Diwali for Tamilians 17-11-2004 14:53 In three days 606 American myrmidons perished 17-11-2004 07:27 no goood ruler 17-11-2004 04:37 Welcome To Goa 17-11-2004 02:34 East Asian Anarchist Portal 17-11-2004 02:23 MEDIA EDUCATION :NEED FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT 16-11-2004 13:42 FREE MARWAN BARGHOUTI! DEMAND HIS RELEASE, SAFETY AND PROTE 16-11-2004 10:55 IS BEING HINDU A CRIME IN INDIA ? 16-11-2004 10:08 A Power Point Presentaion of Lottocracy 15-11-2004 13:20 Accessible Press ReleaseCultural Center presents three essay 15-11-2004 02:51 One Democratic State in Israel/Palestine 13-11-2004 18:51 GOD BLESS AMERICA 13-11-2004 11:32 India-Pakistan South Asian Union? 12-11-2004 21:29 The gift of a wired president to a wired race: genopolitics 12-11-2004 03:38 TO BUSH & BLAIR: WE DON'T WANT PEACE, WE WANT OUR HOMELAND, 12-11-2004 02:03 Is Bush Compromised by Israeli Intelligence? 11-11-2004 21:15 Cannot the public sector do better? 11-11-2004 11:38 ARAFAT WAS DEAD A LONG LONG TIME AGO 11-11-2004 02:16 59 Million People Like Me 10-11-2004 19:17 Falluja: Blood lust dominates mainstream media 10-11-2004 14:06 Elmsary shows a true Muslim Colour 09-11-2004 20:27 United Kingdom Protest 09-11-2004 17:36 MANY AMERICANS QUIETLY SUPPORT COURAGEOUS IRAQI RESISTANCE! 09-11-2004 07:52 The End of the Arafat Era 08-11-2004 17:49 FLASH LIGHTS AND EYE TESTS - BUYING THE APPROVAL OF THE RICH 07-11-2004 18:21 BBC Documentary: Secret Swami: Information & Disinformation 07-11-2004 00:13 National Conference on Workers Plight & Asbestos Trade 06-11-2004 14:44 GOD HELP AMERICA!! – THE UK'S HILARIOUS POLITICAL COMMENTARY 06-11-2004 03:52 Bush is Back 05-11-2004 15:31 FootPrints For Peace - SOAW Run 05-11-2004 02:48 Walk For World Peace 05-11-2004 02:47 Stop The Bombs International Peace Walk 05-11-2004 02:45 Spartacist League/PDC Protest Crackdown on IndyMedia 04-11-2004 19:10 Republican America! Republican Forever! 04-11-2004 01:12 A programmer sent 1000 application - no work 03-11-2004 23:14 Sane Osama, schizo Bush ! 03-11-2004 11:09 Sign Appeal:An appeal to abductors of Tamil hostage in Iraq 03-11-2004 09:26 A Bridge Across Tears for Iraq 03-11-2004 06:27 bush must goooooooooooooooo 03-11-2004 05:26 mahatma gandhi 03-11-2004 04:42 Voters Panchayat 02-11-2004 15:28 Uphold the Banner of Great November Revolution 02-11-2004 10:55 Australian Company Missing in Action! 02-11-2004 10:33 Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution 02-11-2004 03:15 The Myth of Mahatma Gandhi 01-11-2004 21:54 Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution 01-11-2004 18:26 From SUCI website 01-11-2004 13:55 Revolution USA Video 31-10-2004 16:47 Dont make the SCs, STs "Electoral Untouchables" 31-10-2004 13:56 OSAMA'S ENDORSEMENT 31-10-2004 12:14 Help get Iraq war crimes investigated 30-10-2004 00:01 S. Asian Mental Health Policy website 29-10-2004 19:18 Indian Implementation plan for MARPOL Convention ? 29-10-2004 14:24 U.S. platoon refuses 'suicide mission' in Iraq 29-10-2004 11:51 Bhushan Steel Workers Plight Ignored 29-10-2004 10:35 Public request of judgment 29-10-2004 09:14 Why SUCI is the only genuine Communist Party in India? 28-10-2004 16:10 ??startpage.policy?? Newswire archive | |